<p>Daugter of the ultimate ironer mom here, too. Thank god my bras were made of synthetic fabric that could not be ironed without burning holes in them! I do have the ironing gene, although its expression is suppressed by certain factors. :)</p>
<p>mathmom, olive seems to be one of the “in” colors featured in many spring/summer collections. I’d pair your skirt with a fitted tee and a woven leather belt (and add a necklace if you can wear one on the job), just like wnp suggested. I like to wear skirts in the summer.</p>
<p>May I weigh in with a personal opinion? Mathmom, please don’t wear the broomstick skirt with a tank or tee and then use an open blouse as a pseudo jacket. That is not dressing young. A cute jean jacket - fine, but not that camp shirt thing. Women who do that are one step away from wearing sneakers with matching socks with their capris.</p>
<p>Hope I don’t get booted from the thread - but I just can’t let you go out like that!!!</p>
<p>wnp2 is right. I realize this is a style many older women wear, but many of them do it unsuccessfully. Most of the time the skirt is too long and it is paired with a loose top and flats. It looks like an attempt to appear artsy, but it can be quite frumpy on most body types. </p>
<p>Perhaps if mathmom is tall and thin and pairs it with a body hugging top and strappy heels it will look okay, but I prefer a more tailored look.</p>
<p>I’m not supertall or super thin. (Size 6 to 8, 5’-6" and getting smaller) Small bones and tend to look thinner than I actually am. I don’t need to look young all the time, but it’s nice to know what look I am projecting. I’ve got one friend where everyone at the party will be sporting the artsy/frumpy look. Some more artsy some more frumpy. :)</p>
<p>My mother in law is such a sweet person, but somewhere she latched on to the blouse as jacket idea. She is so tall and slim, she can look really great, but when she has the open blouse thing going WITH the pastel socks, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. </p>
<p>Actually, I just keep my thoughts to myself and remember what a great person she is!</p>
<p>I’m not sure what a broomstick skirt is! I have two that I like very much that hit at about the ankle and are somewhat form-fitting thru the hips and swish a little along the hem. I don’t do well in skirts that are too full. Just not tall enough, I think.</p>
<p>Anyway, what I wear a lot with my two long narrow skirts is a cami that is pretty long and hits at the hips with this sweater (don’t laugh - Garnet Hill again!). I think the wrap vs buttons of the cardigan just works better with the long skirt vibe.</p>
<p>When I don’t do the wrap sweater because it’s too hot, I like to wear a fairly loose linen tee (Eileen Fisher) with a belt that hits around the hips, loosely belted. I get compliments on this look but find it kind of a pain to keep the belt hanging just so . . . tends to get off kilter. Without the belt I look really lousy, just too loose and formless.</p>
<p>I’ve thought of wearing one of the skirts (a nice deep gray) with a blazer in the fall and a boot.</p>
<p>Hey, I love to iron. Have been known to iron my potholders and DH’s tee-shirts. Especially when it rains. Love to iron to the sound of the rain . . .</p>
<p>Switching topics a bit… Does anyone feel ready to talk about new fall clothes, colors and trends? When I was leaving for work today, it was 57 degrees and cloudy. No wonder the Nordstrom Anniversary sale is going so strong in my neck of the woods with so many items completely sold out!</p>
<p>I’m dreaming of a long wool coat (yup, wool, despite living in the wettest corner of the US!) - beige, sand, light brown or something along those lines… Has anyone seen such coats lately, or did the popular “camel” color go out of fashion so quickly?</p>
<p>BunsenBurner- There are no major new trends going on this year. Flare pants are being shown a little more this year. Cascade sweaters/jackets are still popular. Loose tops like they were showing for spring will continue. As far as colors go beige and tan should be popular. Plums and green (olive tones) and gold will be out there as well.</p>
<p>I just got the new JCrew catalogue in the mail and I loved everything. Lots of blazers in great colors. Bright colored wool Capri pants. Good stuff.</p>
<p>That said, it’s 99 degrees here (except at my office where it is 66) and I can’t bear the thought of fall clothes.</p>
<p>I work for a retailer and have seen not only the colors we are buying for this season but the colors that have been recommended by the consultants. A lot of the ideas we get come from Europe and we have found there have not been major changes this year.</p>
<p>For myself I would love to find a place to shop that is not the same old same old. Any suggestions I would love to hear about it.</p>
<p>Back to those two photos of the skirts for a moment – it has dawned on me lately that the low loose belt around the hips only looks good on 6 feet tall models, and even on them, only from the front in photographs. There also seems to be a lot of belted tunic/blousy tops lately, and I’ve never seen it work on a real live person, especially when combined with leggings, jeggings, or similar. It might look ok from the front, but there is always something bunchy or awkward looking from the side or back. </p>
<p>It’s sort of a mini-epiphany I had recently… I really like the casual low-slung belted look in theory, but have had to face the ugly truth. Sigh.</p>
<p>Yea, you wonder what the folks who make up these fashions that are pretty much unwearable by live humans were/are thinking when they come up with these unflattering things. <sigh></sigh></p>
<p>stressed2x, thanks! Maybe the stores will add “camel” coats to their collections coser to the fall. Right now, all I see is black and dark grey. You mentioned that you were looking for new sources of “not the same old”. Do you like to shop online? Here are some of my old and recently tried online retailers:
Yoox - it is the online equivalent of Nordstrom Rack for Italian designers. There are amazing bargains, but just like NR, this place is a treasure hunt. Some items sold by Yoox come from Europe exclusive collections. Shipping is free, but it takes a couple of weeks, because some items come from overseas. Returns are easy, for a small nominal fee the return package gets shipped to their distrbution center somewhere in NJ, I think.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Stylebop - this web-only retailer is located in Munich, Germany. All prices include all applicable US taxes, and the only extra fee you end up paying is $25 for their standard 2-day express shipping from Germany (warning: they ship “signature required”). I have no experience with returns, because the Issa dress I bought from them fit perfectly. My dress arrived packaged in a pretty box with return instructions included (inclding a customs form that needs to be filled out for each return). Return shipping is free.</p></li>
<li><p>Outnet - the bargain basement of Net a Porter (?). Another treasure hunt site with good bargains featuring past seasons’ fashions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Additionally, a small boutique chain in Northern CA called Foot Candy (how do they come up with these goofy names?!) sells designer shoes that are hard to find elsewhere. Their 50% off sales bring the exorbitant prices somewhat down, to the stratosphere level. The sales people are knowledgeable and nice, and my shoes arrived with a handwritten thank you note tucked inside the impeccably packaged box.</p>
<p>As you see, I like nice stuff, but I hate to pay a lot for it. :)</p>
<p>My personal style change in the year ahead is going to be a move toward skirts/dresses and away from jeans/slacks. I just feel like the change. Am wondering what outerwear will work best through the wintry months with skirts/dresses . . .</p>
<p>I’ve also concluded that I’m not a jewelry person. I’m a watch person. Have begun to collect watches.</p>
<p>If I try to follow the trends it usually doesn’t turn out well!</p>